Hey Arnold! - Not Knowing
by SharonMckellie
Summary: Arnold is missing his parents. I decided to write an Arnold centric fanfiction about him missing his parents because their aren't a lot of stories out there that deal with this issue.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **I do not own Hey Arnold! I just wrote this because I was bored. Also, I don't believe there are enough fanfics addressing Arnold's issues with his parents being missing. There are tons of TJM fanfics, but I decided to write a basic story about Arnold missing his parents. BTW The REAL Jungle Movie will render any other fanfics non canon. However, some of them are fun to read.**

Arnold glanced down at the street from his bedroom window. Everyone was bustling down the street. Kids were playing baseball. Harvey the mailman was delivering mail on one of his mail routes. Mr. Green was sweeping outside his store. Everything and everyone were in their proper place…except for two.

Miles and Stella.

Arnold glanced over at his bed. On it was the photograph of his parents. He had been staring at it since he had woken up that morning. "Maybe things were meant to be this way," Arnold thought. Maybe his life was meant to be like this. Growing up without parents. Growing up without a good ol' father-son game of catch. Growing up without a heart to heart conversation with his mom.

It felt so strange. How can you miss someone so terribly that you haven't even really had a change to know? Arnold could handle the stories he heard from his Grandpa about them. He could even handle hearing his father's writings from the journal. What he couldn't handle was the idea of NOT KNOWING.

Are they alive? If they're alive, where are they? If they got lost, how and when did they get lost?

Are they dead? If they're dead, where are they? If they're dead, how and when did they die?

These two scenarios haunted him. On the one hand, they're dead. And on the other hand, they are lost.

Late at night, Arnold would go over each scenario of what could have happened to them. Did their plane crash? Did they get lost? Did the plane run out of fuel? Where have they been for the past eight years? Eight years. It doesn't seem like a lot to an average person, but to Arnold it felt like an eternity.

What if they were dead? Would that make things any easier? No. It would just confirm the fact that he truly doesn't have parents.

"Maybe if they were dead it would stop this never-ending cycle of worry," Arnold thought to himself. "No, they're out there….somewhere."

Arnold put the photograph back into the drawer. Every time he looked at it sadness, hurt, anxiety, fear, and depression swept over him all at once.

Just then, Abner came into the room oinking and running around in a circle.

"Oh…sorry boy I need to let you out."

After Arnold said this, the pig jumped for joy and followed Arnold downstairs and to the front door. Arnold opened it and Abner and other nameless cats and dogs spilled out of the front door and onto the sidewalk.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Arnold walked down the sidewalk. For some reason, he didn't want to go back into the boarding house. It just felt different today. Today of all days of course was October 5th. Arnold looked down at his feet and noticed that there were a few pebbles at his feet. He began kicking them down the sidewalk while walking just to see which pebble would go the farthest. He then let out a long sad sigh. Suddenly, his optimism perked right back up.

"I know! I can go the park!" Arnold thought to himself. "Yeah."

And with one last kick to the third pebble he began jogging to the park. MOM. This jogging eventually turned into running. DAD. The running turned into sprinting. Maybe if he ran hard enough, his mind and his thoughts would leave him alone about his parents. As he ran faster and faster, his shoes pounded on the sidewalk and his jacket waved behind him. The cool wind hit him in the face. Finally, he slowed to a stop in order to cross the street. Huffing and puffing he checked to make sure no cars were coming and sprinted across the street into the park entrance.

"I made it," he thought, sweat dripping down from his hat.

Just then, Arnold glanced and saw Stinky and Sid playing catch. Oh great. Just who he wanted to see: his classmates.

"Maybe they won't notice me," Arnold said tip-toeing while trying to catch his breath.

"Hey Arnold!"

Arnold turned around and saw Sid and Stinky coming over to him.

"Wanna play catch?" Sid said.

Arnold stared at Sid's baseball mitt. It looked worn and old. However, Arnold didn't have room to talk, he was needing a new baseball mitt too.

"We would play over in Gerald Field, but we can't on account of Wolfgang," Stinky said.

"Oh." The one syllable word escaped from Arnold's lips. "I'll see ya later guys."

As Arnold walked past Sid and Stinky he heard Sid mumble under his breath, "What's up with him?" However, at this point he didn't care. He just wanted to get his mind off things.

"You think it'd be easy for a daydreamer like me?" Arnold thought. "But every daydream always leads to my parents."

Walking to the beat of his own lonely heart, Arnold began to think about the reasoning behind his parents leaving. Maybe they didn't want him? After eight years, maybe they didn't want to take care of him? Deep down Arnold knew that wasn't true, but it still bugged him about the fact that they had been gone eight years and not a word. Was it his fault they left? Did they leave to prove to their one and only son that they were heroes? Did they leave to prove a point?

SMACK! Arnold bumped into a tree. He heard laughter and found that the giggles belonged to Rhonda and Nadine.

"Gee Arnold, keep your head up," Rhonda said with an arrogant laugh.

"Are you okay Arnold," Nadine asked a bit more concerned.

"I'm fine."

Rhonda and Nadine looked at one another. It was easy to tell when something was bugging him. Nadine asked him once again if he was okay, but he gave the same line again.

"I'll see you guys later."

With that, Arnold realized he had walked through the entire park. Now what was he supposed to do? He looked across the street and there was the arcade. He watched as Gerald, Harold, and Eugene went inside. Then, he followed suit.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Inside the arcade, Arnold watched as Gerald played Runaway Bus. Harold was busy at the claw machine, while Eugene was…attempting to play Dance Revolution, but he kept tripping off the platform. Arnold spotted the same old pinball machine that had been in the arcade since forever ago. He walked up to the machine and inserted a quarter. The machine started up and red and blue lights began flashing. Arnold pulled on the lever and the ball burst up through the shaft and into a bonus x 100 shot. The score kept climbing and the ball keep clinging and clinging.

Soon, Arnold caught the attention of everyone in the arcade which was the last thing he wanted to do. As he watched the pinball roll downward, he began to daydream. In the daydream he saw his parents rushing to get away from a giant boulder (much like in Indiana Jones films).

"Mom! Dad! This way," Arnold called out to them from the ball launcher pad.

"We can't reach you son," Miles replied.

"You can do it!"

Stella pulled a rope out of her backpack, but before she could throw it, the boulder caught up to them. The shiny metal boulder and Arnold's parents plummeted between the two pinball levers.

"Nooooooooooo!"

Arnold awoke from his daydream. He noticed that a sign on the machine was flashing. GAME OVER, it read.

"Man Arnold, you were so close," Gerald said.

"Yeah, you almost beat the high score," Harold said.

Arnold was furious. He took his fist and punched the glass casing on the machine.

"What's wrong man?"

Arnold didn't feel like discussing things with Gerald right now. He was too mad. Plus, Gerald knew what today was. Or did he forget? "He probably forgot," Arnold thought. "Why would this day matter to him?"

Without a word to Gerald, Arnold walked out of the arcade. He knew Gerald was following him because he kept calling his name.

"Arnold!"

Quickly, Arnold turned around and faced Gerald.

"I'm fine! I don't wanna talk about anything. You know what today is!" Arnold said as he began walking again.

If was as if he had eyes in the back of his head because before Gerald even took a step forward, Arnold responded.

"Please don't follow me."

And with that, Arnold resumed his lonely stroll. Why was he so angry? He was mad not only because his parents left, but also because he kept wondering WHY HIM? Did the world just hate him or something? He didn't want to toot his own horn or anything, but he thought of himself as a good person. So, why did fate deal him these cards? How was he supposed to play with the cards of life that he was dealt?

"I'm ready for this day to be over," Arnold said to himself, a hint of frustration in his voice.

WHAM!

Arnold fell to the ground. As he rubbed his head, he heard a familiar voice.

"Watch it football head!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As Arnold got to his feet and wiped his knees, he looked up and saw none other than Helga G. Pataki and Phoebe Hyerdahl.

"Sorry Helga," Arnold said narrowing his eyes.

"Are you all right Arnold," Phoebe asked being more considerate.

Arnold didn't respond.

"Why don't you watch where you're going," Helga yelled as she and Phoebe walked past him.

"Helga!" Arnold yelled out to her.

Helga and Phoebe quickly turned around to face him, startled by the volume in his voice.

"What?"

Arnold stepped forward not afraid to face her.

"I've always ignored your insults, taunts, and nicknames, but today I've had it!"

"And why's that football head?"

Arnold clenched his fights tightly. He then stood on tip-toe to make sure he and Helga were face to face. As he got angrier, his face got redder and redder. Then, as he opened his mouth to say something, nothing came out. Helga was still staring at him with a glare. Arnold lowered his feet down and stared at Helga. His eyes shifted from an angry look to a sad one. He then took off running leaving Helga and Phoebe confused.

"That wasn't very nice Helga."

"What? What's today," Helga asked. She was actually curious as to why Arnold was acting this way.

"Gerald told me that today's the anniversary of when Arnold's parents left."

Helga's heart dropped. She had just hurt her beloved parentless Arnold. She thought of the time her father called him an orphan-boy. She thought of Parents Day. She thought of his grandparents, but most important she thought of apologizing.

Arnold ran down the sidewalk until he saw the boarding house. This time instead of going inside it, he went around the back. He then leaned up against the brick house to catch his breath. Suddenly, as if all of today's events and emotions hit him at full speed, his eyes began to water. He slowly slid his back down the wall and sat down. Water droplets dripped onto the pavement until his eyes were not just watering, but overflowing. He folded his arms on his knees and began to cry into them. Arnold was the type of person to never let his emotions get the better of him, but today was different. Today of all days was always different.

He didn't know if he would be able to stop crying. Which each sob, his chest and throat tightened. His heart was pounding. His face was wet. His body was shaking. "They've got to come back. They've just got to come back," Arnold thought to himself. As his head was down, he saw two brown loafers appear in front of him.

"Are you okay Shortman?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Arnold raised his head up and saw his grandfather standing over him.

"Come on, let's go inside," Phil said as he reached down and grabbed Arnold by the hand. He lifted him up off the ground and placed his arm around him. Arnold was so upset that he could barely walk. Phil supported him as they went up the front steps and into the house.

"Come on," he said again leading Arnold to the living room. Gently, he sat Arnold down on the sofa. "You've had a rough day huh?"

Arnold wiped his eyes, but didn't say anything. Phil then handed Arnold a glass of milk. Arnold nodded at him as a way of saying thank you. He took a sip of the milk and placed it on the table in front of him. Phil's attitude suddenly perked up.

"I know! How about we play checkers? Let's see who can beat who in a battle of wits!"

Arnold looked up at his grandpa and then looked away. Phil rubbed his head.

"Well, do you want to go to the park, or the arcade? Or we could go to a baseball game, or-"

Phil was suddenly interrupted by more loud sobbing from Arnold.

"Shh, shh, shh…it's okay Arnold. It's okay," Phil said wrapping him in a hug. Arnold hugged his grandfather tightly not wanting to let go.

"Why don't you go to your room and take a nap huh? Then we can talk," Phil told him.

Arnold nodded and headed upstairs, his eyes were now burning from the stinging tears. On his way to his room his passed Mr. Potts, Mr. Hyunh, Oscar, and Suzie in the hallway. Apparently, they were coming downstairs for lunch. As he passed them, each of them waved, smiled, and spoke to him. They knew exactly why Arnold was feeling so low and decided to let him be. All except for Oscar.

"Hey there Arnold," Mr. Potts said.

"Oh Arnold, I'm so sorry," Mr. Hyunh said.

"Hi Arnold," Suzie said.

"Oh Arnold there you are, where have you been," Oscar said.

"Oscar!" Suzie replied.

"What?"

As the boarders descended downstairs, Arnold entered his room and sat down on his bed. All was quiet. So quiet, in fact, that you could even hear a pin drop. Arnold reclined back onto his pillow. As he looked up at the clouds he took a deep breath in…then he let the deep breath out. He was trying to calm down but nothing seemed to work. There was only one thing that would be make the hurt and tension go away…..if his parents came into his bedroom right at this moment. Suddenly, Arnold heard a knock at the door. He quickly jolted out of bed and stood upright. How amazing would it be if this was them?! The bedroom door creaked open slowly. Arnold quickly wiped his tears away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The door opened very slowly. Arnold's heart was pounding. He knew it couldn't be his parents, but for some reason he had joy and hope in his heart. As the person entered the room, Arnold's heart started to slow back down. He looked at the person's white sneakers, to the pink dress, to the pink bow on top of her head. "What is Helga doing here," he thought.

"Um…Hey Arnold," she said rubbing her arm nervously.

"What do YOU want?" Arnold said wiping his eyes.

Helga looked at Arnold as he said this. She could see the sadness and desperate look in his eyes. They were red and puffy from the waterfall of tears. Had she caused this by what she said? Oh why did she have to torture him!? Especially today. Why did she have to be so cruel? If only she could tell him how she really felt. In fact, she thought of doing so until she realized how horrific and nerve-wracking it would be.

"Well."

As Arnold spoke, it awoke Helga from her thoughts. She had actually forgotten he was still standing there

"Um…."

Arnold folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm listening…" Arnold said even though he couldn't care less as to what she was about to say.

"Arnold I-," she stopped.

"What Helga? What!"

Helga walked over to Arnold's computer. She looked up on the bulletin board and saw posters of some place called San Lorenzo. She assumed that it was just some place in Brazil that Arnold was fascinated by. She eyed the posters, maps, and-

"Helga?" Arnold asked again wondering why she wasn't talking.

She saw a picture of a small boy. He had blond hair and an older man with the same shade of blond was holding him over a birthday cake. An older woman with chestnut brown hair stood beside them both. So, this was Arnold's parents…

"Um…I'm came to apologize…for what I said earlier. You know, I shouldn't have called you…football head."

Arnold unfolded his arms. Why did she sound so sincere?

"Arnold, I know I always pick on you. I call you football head, yutz, paste for brains, goody two shoes, and-"

"Helga, what's your point?"

Helga sighed.

"The point is Arnold is that I just say those things to cover up my real feelings."

"Real feelings?"

"Yeah. I-"

"Look Helga, I appreciate you coming over to apologize, and I accept it but…I just wanna be alone right now."

Arnold walked over to his bed and sat down once again. Helga wanted desperately to hold him and kiss him and tell him just how much she wanted the hurt to go away, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. So, she changed the subject.

"So are these your parents?"

Arnold nodded.

"They're not actually bad looking football…..- Arnold."

Arnold laughed. It felt strange considering he hadn't laughed in a while.

"Thanks Helga."

"So….where are they."

Arnold sighed. He didn't want to speak the name of the place they had been for fear that it somehow might disappear from the face of the Earth. Instead, he got up and came over to the bulletin board. He pointed up at one of the posters.

"San Lorenzo?"

Arnold nodded again.

"Did they get lost or something?"

Arnold didn't want to discuss this but Helga was asking so nicely that he just had to answer her.

"I- I don't know. They were explorers, humanitarians."

"So, that's where you get your sense of optimism."

"Yeah….but they left to go save some mountain people from a sickness….and never came back."

Arnold looked down again.

"That's today isn't it?"

Arnold looked up at her confused.

"What's today?"

"They left on October 5th. That's today, isn't it?"

Arnold froze. If he had it his way he wished he could erase the words "OCTOBER 5th" from the dictionary and the calendar. He gave Helga a small nod.

"Criminy, that really stinks Arnold."

Arnold nodded again. It was really all he could do now since he felt like he had lost his voice. OH NO! He felt the crying sensation take hold of him again. He couldn't cry! Not now! Not in front of Helga! He drew in one last breath before his eyes started to water.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Arnold's eyes were starting to overflow once again. His was about to wipe them away when suddenly-

Someone was hugging him!

Not only was this just someone, but it was HELGA! Helga! H-E-L-G-A! HELGA G. PATAKI! He was surprised but more importantly he was embarrassed. His entire life the only people that ever saw him cry were his grandparents. He never cried in front of his classmates, not even in front of Gerald! As Helga was hugging him, he felt a sense of comfort and support. She actually smelled really good; of course Arnold wasn't going say anything about it to her in this particular moment.

Helga held him close to her. He smelled sooooooooooo good that she still wondered what shampoo he used.

After hugging one another for what seemed like hours (really only a few minutes), the two broke apart away from each other once Arnold calmed down.

"Well, I-I-uh-I…I better be going."

"O-O-Okay," Arnold said still a little shocked.

"Bye Arnold," Helga said as he went over and opened his bedroom door.

"Um, Helga?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention," she said as she shut the door. The door then opened once more for her to add, "Seriously don't mention it. To anyone. Ever."

"Okay," Arnold said with a laugh.

The door shut again. After waiting for a few seconds, Arnold opened the door. He watched as Helga walked down the steps and down the hallway; her pink bow bouncing along on the top of her head. As soon as she disappeared from his sight, Arnold went back into his bedroom. "It's strange," he thought. "She actually sounded like she meant it when she said she was sorry." Arnold began to pace around his bedroom thinking over the past few minutes of what had just taken place. Helga had come by to apologize to him, but why would she do that? Maybe he had been right all along. Helga only acts tough and mean just to cover up her own insecurities. She said so herself. She said, "to cover up her real feelings." But what exactly were her real feelings? Arnold scratched his head.

"Women." He said out loud to himself.

Arnold sat on the couch and grabbed a telephone that sat on a table next to the couch. He HAD to call Gerald. He felt terrible for how he acted at the arcade. Arnold began dialing the numbers, he knew them by heart. It began ringing and ringing and ringing. Arnold swallowed hard, still nervous over his previous encounter with Helga. Should he tell Gerald what had just happened, or keep it to himself?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Oh my gosh! The TJM trailer drops today at NYCC! Words cannot express how excited I am! I just pray and hope that they put the trailer online! Anyway, here's Chapter 8! Thanks for all the reviews and reads! :)**

"Hello?" Arnold heard the familiar gruff voice say.

"Hey Gerald, its Arnold."

"Hey man, what's up?"

Arnold was relieved Gerald didn't even bring up the incident that occurred at the arcade. He felt horrible about the whole ordeal.

"I-I-j-just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were just trying to help."

"Don't worry about it man. I know why you did," Gerald said with NO hint of anger in his voice whatsoever. Arnold liked that about Gerald. He rarely got mad about things. There was a very awkward pause between the two.

"Um," Arnold began a hint of tension in his voice.

"Are you okay?" Gerald asked. He was very worried about his best friend. October 5th was a day that always made Arnold act this way, but for some reason this time around the anniversary of his parents leaving seemed even worse for him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Arnold lied.

"Are you sure you don't want any company?"

Arnold swallowed. Technically, he had already had company come in his room. Helga. Helga was in his room. Helga was in his room? The more Arnold thought about it, that statement just didn't make sense.

"Arnold?"

"Uh, well I-"

"That's it, I'm coming over. You need a friend today." Gerald said.

"Gerald wait I-"Arnold said quickly hoping he could keep Gerald from hanging up the phone. Too late! Arnold heard the receiver on the other end click. Great. Arnold knew that as soon as Gerald saw him, he would know that something was up. What was he going to do?

Arnold paced around his bedroom. As the minutes ticked by, he kept looking up at the pictures of his parents. If he had it his way, right now he just wanted to tear the whole bulletin board down. But of course, he couldn't. It was strange. He wanted to tear all the photos down but at the same time he wanted to keep them there.

"Hey Arnold," Gerald said as he entered his room. "Your grandpa told me that you were up here."

Arnold nodded. He didn't want to face Gerald for the fear that he would know something was up. Of course, he couldn't hide anything from Gerald.

"Man, I'm sorry about today. I know I can't do anything or say anything to make it any better. But, I just want you to understand that I care about you. You and me are family man. We're brothers. We've been brothers since preschool, and nothing…not even you yelling at me today will ever change that, okay?" Gerald said, ending his heartfelt speech with a hand on Arnold's shoulder.

Arnold looked up at Gerald. He was glad he had a best friend like him.

"Thanks Gerald."

"Don't mention it." Gerald said.

OH NO! "Don't mention it." Why did that sound so familiar? Arnold thought. HELGA! She said the same thing as she was leaving! Stay cool. Just nod and smile. As Arnold gave Gerald a fake smile, this was when the jig was up.

"Okay Arnold. What's up? I know that nervous smile anywhere."

"W-What? What nervous smile?"

"You can't lie man."

He was right. Arnold couldn't lie. If he did he gave a signature fake smile or would stutter so much that he would have to tell the truth. Like Arnold thought, he was glad he had a best friend like Gerald, but he just couldn't get anything past him. Arnold sighed really loud.

"Okay, Helga came to see me."

Gerald's eyes widened.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Holy cow! Did you see the two new trailers they just dropped for Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie! I'm so excited for November 24th!**

Gerald bust out laughing. Arnold was getting a little angry due to the fact that he was absolutely serious about Helga coming to see him.

"It's not funny Gerald! She came to apologize for being rude to me."

Gerald's laugh then gradually slowed to a stop.

"You are talking about Helga right? Helga G. Pataki?" Gerald said.

"Yeah. She came in and apologized for calling me football head, and we talked about my parents, and-"Arnold stopped. He knew what came next.

"And…then….we sort of….hugged."

Gerald looked at Arnold as if he was crazy! Why in the world would Helga come all the way over to the boarding house just to apologize to Arnold for calling him football head? She did it all the time. It was a regular normal thing. But hugging Arnold was anything but normal.

"SHE HUGGED YOU!"

"Yes! And she seemed real sincere about it too. It was like she was actually acting nice for a change. She even said she just acts mean to cover up her real feelings."

Gerald's eyes grew wider and wider.

"Real feelings?"

"Yeah."

Arnold slowly nodded his head down. He just knew Gerald was going to make fun of him for hugging Helga. Well, actually she hugged him, but anyway….Arnold knew that somehow Gerald was going to make light of the situation.

"Mmm. Mmm. Mmm." Gerald hummed his signature tune. "I always knew that girl was hiding something. But liking you Arnold has to be the craziest thing I've ever heard."

Arnold was shocked. Gerald didn't make one joke or humor for the situation. What's worse was that Gerald said that Helga LIKED him!

"Like me? She hates me! She picks on me nonstop, day after day. She-"Arnold stopped talking once he remembered something. Saving the neighborhood. The rooftop. FTI. Deep Voice. How had he forgotten that? How could he be so stupid and dim! Helga told him she loved him not too long ago, but they both agreed to just let it go. Gerald was right! Helga liked….LOVED him!

"What? What is it Arnold?"

Arnold looked up at Gerald. He didn't dare want to tell Gerald the truth of what happened that day on top of FTI. Even though it meant keeping a secret from his best friend, Arnold chose not to tell him.

"Nothing. It's nothing. I was just thinking."

"Look man, it's been a rough day for you today. Maybe even Helga knows what today means to you. Deep deep down in that twisted heart of hers she did something nice for you today. That's not the end of the world is it?"

Arnold shook his head. He then rubbed his eyes. They were puffy and were burning from the many tears that had flowed from them.

"Even Helga can be nice."

"You're right Gerald. Thanks."

"No problem. So, you wanna go down to the river to throw rocks?" Gerald asked hoping Arnold would say yes.

Arnold thought long and hard about it. He looked up to see the sky from the skylights in his room. The sky had now turned a red/orange color. The sun was going down. October 5th was almost over. Throwing rocks would be a great way to get out some tension and frustration.

"Sure. I'll meet you downstairs in a minute."

"Okay man."

After they both did their classic thumb handshake, Gerald exited the bedroom.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **Thanks guys! I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Here's the last chapter!**

October 5th. A day that will forever haunt him. Well, maybe not forever….Arnold hoped. To everyone else in the neighborhood it was just another day. To him…it wasn't just a day. It was a sad reminder. A reminder of his parents leaving him when he was just a baby. A reminder of the fact that he's grown up without parents. A reminder of the longing he felt for them to come back. "Strange," Arnold thought. "Is it weird I can't remember what their voices sounded like?" Arnold was only almost 2 when they left so it wasn't a big stretch that he couldn't remember their voices. The only thing he had left of them was an old photograph and an old journal.

Ever since Arnold found it, he poured over the pages so many times that some of them were starting to fall out. The spine was bent from the times Arnold had opened it. Even the word JOURNAL was starting to fade. He had read his father's journal so many times that he knew all of it word for word. Every night he would read a story from it. He loved reading the adventures of his parents, and he just couldn't believe that they were actually explorers! How cool is that? His least favorite was of course the last page:

A map. A map of San Lorenzo.

"Arnold! Are you coming or what?" Arnold heard Gerald call from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" He responded.

Before exiting his sanctuary bedroom, he took one last look at the bulletin board. It seemed to grow larger every day. More and more photos, maps, and bits of information were always attached to it. Every time he found a clue or something related to San Lorenzo, he would attach it to the bulletin board.

 **SAN LORENZO**

How he wished he could go there…then he would know the truth. Then, he would KNOW what happened to them. Whether it was good or bad, he wanted to know rather than **NOT KNOWING**.

However, Arnold knew the day was almost over. Tomorrow would be October 6th and then his birthday which he was actually looking forward to. "HOPE," he thought as he opened his bedroom door.

With one last look, he spoke to the photograph of his parents.

"I'll find you guys someday. I promise."

Arnold then closed the door behind him, and met up with Gerald at the bottom of the stairs.

"You okay?" He asked noticing the look on Arnold's face.

"Yeah. I'm fine Gerald. Let's go."

"Whatever you say Arnold," Gerald said noticing the sudden change in Arnold's attitude.

The two best buds exited the boarding house and began walking down the sidewalk. The sun was setting. To Arnold, it symbolized not only the end of the day, but the beginning of an even bigger adventure. Finding his parents.

 **Well, that's it you guys! Let me know what you think? Should I write more Hey Arnold fanfics? Does anyone have any requests?**

 **Again, thanks for all the reviews! It makes me feel happy to be a part of such a nice and welcoming fandom!**

 ***** November 24** **th** **we finally get to see if Arnold will be reunited with his parents! :D*****


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